Infinite’s Woohyun’s solo debut, “Nod Nod”, is unfortunately basic

Woohyun of Infinite has finally released a solo debut, and as the main vocal of the well known boy group it only seemed fit that his solo debut be very vocal focused. “Nod Nod” certainly fits the criteria of being a song that focuses on the vocals, but unfortunately, that didn’t stop it from being rather basic.

The melody is certainly pretty, as were Woohyun’s vocals, but there wasn’t anything ever really to grip onto. I don’t find the melody all that inspiring or original. It’s pretty safe all around, and I found the delivery a bit too airy, particularly in his upper register … which is unfortunately also most of the hook.

That being said, I think this serves the purpose Woollim Entertainment (and perhaps Woohyun) intended. Woohyun’s sweet, clear, and smooth tone definitely shines despite everything else. It’s hard not to come away from listening to him without thinking, “What a pretty voice.”

So despite it being overly airy for my taste, it was never uncomfortable to listen to, and his voice was highlighted thoroughly. Fans will likely be more than pleased with this debut, and from what I’m reading elsewhere they definitely are.

—–

That brings me to the music video. There are definitely things I disliked more about the music video than the actual song.

While the general plot was clever, and I thought the choice to never show the woman’s face was an interesting way to emphasize the theme that she was always seeing him without him truly seeing her, the haziness throughout the music video was very visually off-putting. It was most apparent in these green shots above, even though it wasn’t limited to them.

This was no doubt an attempt to push the feeling of melancholy and nostalgia, but I found it lazy and overdone. So much so that the scene of him discovering her photographs, which were simply in black and white, were refreshing to the eye due to the contrast that was missing in a lot of the other scenes. I think it could have been more successful if they added in more pops of color, like her red shoes, if they were insistent on keeping the haziness, but bottom line is I was starved for more contrast.

Another thing that was overdone to me were the emotional scenes. They were introduced far too soon, and it gave the viewer zero background to really understand, relate, or connect to what he was so damn broken up over. I mean, just over a minute in and he’s in the fetal position. I am no stranger to loving cheesy drama, but this really seemed immaturely introduced, and therefore came off kind of immature. I just couldn’t take it seriously in the beginning until later on where her photographs were revealed.

In short, this rather safe and basic ballad will definitely fuel the fans to support Woohyun more than ever, and at the end of the day, that’s the goal of any release. Personally, I will be checking out the B-sides and hoping there’s something a little more enjoyable for me on the album. I wouldn’t write Woohyun off after this by any means, but this debut simply wasn’t all that I think he’s capable of.

On a final positive note, I did find this while looking through the music video and thought it was adorable. A little nod the boys, huh?